July 2004 Tony's interview after 42 birthday

[Info]

An interview of Tony by Sing Pao published on 11 July 2004.









Source: fung (Springlight) Translation: Looney Tune

The article started off with some writer named Dong Qiao saying middle age is like afternoon tea. Tony Leung said that he only have 3 meals a day. I shall skip those parts where the reporter rattles on about middle age, and go straight to Tony’s part.

Afraid of Sickness
Everybody gets old, and dies at the end. All I hope for is between old and death, there is no sickness. I change my lifestyle for my body. Health has to be “saved”, starting now to save for twenty years is about right. I want to see if it’ll make me “last” longer.

I have quit smoking for 3 years. Carina still smokes. But you need a good reason to quit. My reason is I do not want to cough. When I stop smoking, I don’t cough. I don’t even take cold drinks, ice lollies and ice cream, in case I get sensitive respiratory tract when I get old. Too much air-condition is bad for health, I try not to sleep with air-conditioning at night. Hot weather? Never had air-con when we were young, it’s just a matter of getting used to.

I am simple when it comes to food. No cold or cooling things. I eat what I’ve eaten since young. Favourite is beef with tomatoes, loofah marrow with vermicelli, steamed meat patty with salted eggs, these food are tasty. Going to Fuk Lam Moon for sharks fin makes you feel bloated for 2 days, when I go there I order steamed meat patties with water chestnut.

I have stopped having nightlife for 3-7 years. When I am not working, I eat at 6pm ,goes to bed by 12pm, and wakes up at 6am. I used to jog in the morning, I knew all the aunties at the peak. But now security is not good, afraid of being robbed and tied to a tree. I have switched to riding bicycle. Bringing a dog along for security? That’s worse. Even the dog get tied to the tree. The dog would blame you for dragging him out of the safety of the house.

I like to play table tennis swims and sun bathing. When I go out to sea alone, sometimes I buy myself a bowl of wanton noodles. A shame that during this period there are sharks in the sea, or I can swim in the sea.

I have not quit drinking, maybe it has something to do with DNA as my dad loves drinking. I like red wine, sake, Hua Tiao (Chinese wine) is also not bad. Especially good eating with a group of friends in winter. I do get drunk. I learnt Qigong once, over dinner had two bottles of sake, and the next day it was difficult to have the discipline to practice Qigong.

Little Angel

I used to be very angry (don’t know the exact translation for it, it means being angry at the world and society), always thinking why everybody treats me this way. Even if a hundred good things happened to me, and there were only 4 bad things, I’ll focus on that 4 bad things. I have changed over the years, and my value of life has also changed. It’s OK to be old, as long as you are not stubborn (closest translation I can think of). I have learnt to treasure what I have, have learnt to look beyond things (again, loose translation. It’s like not being too obstinate about certain issues), and more open hearted, and not forced myself into a corner. This may have something to do with my friends who are all older than me. Quite a lot of them are 60-70 yrs old, wise and gentle. I learnt a lot from them. I used to be a loner, only have 1-2 friends for dinner. Now I find it enjoyable to have dinner with 20-30 friends.

Up till now, I have no regrets in life. In recent years, I realized that I could easily make other people happy. I had a gathering with fans in China recently, I never would have done it before. Even if I had a fan club, that ended nine years ago. I realized that a little effort on my part, for example replying a fan’s letter, probably makes her remembers this for life. Maybe heaven sent me to be a little angel to bring happiness to other people.

Making Carina Happy

Two different people staying together need compromises. It’s not difficult to give way. How hard is it to keep Carina happy. It’s just like keeping my mom happy. Have dinner with her when you have the time, listen to her complaints, surprise her sometimes, buy her gifts. Most importantly don’t let her worry about you, so that she can enjoy herself outside. Just like my mom who have always been worrying about me, and seeing that I am a big boy now, she can enjoy her life. Carina is the same, important thing is to make her not worried. It’s the same for man and woman.

Unable to Leave

I don’t have a career, as acting is my hobby. I don’t have a peak, as I can do better the next time round, that is my motivation. 2046 is a movie that I am most happy with in my 24 years in show business. I was happy to see the end product when it premiered in Cannes, why would I be unhappy. The reporters were waiting in the airport wants news, when I speak they said I was grumbling.

I don’t think I can leave the film industry. It’s about time for me to be a producer. That’ll be in 3-4 years time. Hong Kong has a small market, it is difficult to still be able to play the male lead at 60 years old like in Hollywood. Although China market is big, but it’ll take 1-2 generation before it matures. I am not going behind the screen out of fear of being too old to be on screen, it’s because I can control and plan everything. There is more room to play.

I am very lazy. I have not thought of going into business or becoming a film tycoon. A lot of things I did were forced. Now I only want to pursue happiness, but it is unlikely that I’ll only make a movie a year, I should be lucky if I can get away with two a year.